n theederal school system. .. reservation, some of the issues you are dealing with? caller: we have 350 native american students preschool through fifth grade. the issues in the communities, traditionally, students have the highest dropout rate, highest suicide rate, severe social issues, because of the integration problems historic way that we have had with reservations. that has trickled down to the school environment. traditionally, they are a federally funded school. currently, only a portion of what they need is being funded through congress.

we are challenged severely with financial constraints. how do we raise the achievement of native american students who have been historically underfunded? guest: thank you not only for your underfunded. >> host: thanks for taking a moment to call in. >> guest: thanks for your commitment to those children and i will tell you if had this extraordinary pence the past year to visit the states and its phenomenal schools, many different challenges i'd seen, but one that i will never forget visiting a school in indian country in montana northern cheyenne and that community i thought coming from chicago i knew poverty and what that looked like and that reservation there is 70% unemployment, 70% unemployment. the high school i went to have one student in six years go to

college. one in six years, just staggering. and these are great students. i still keep in touch with one of the young men who is passionate and working hard and the lack of opportunity is absolutely devastating and these are tough issues. so they asked what can i do to help? this huge teacher turnover the move on principle something we want to do is put a lot of resources behind teachers and principals that want to work in underserved communities, inner city, urban, rural, what it might be coming and you have to have stability in those for student to be successful. you talked about technology, the previous question, technology can be a huge opportunities if you can't offer the class of the school why can't we take the class longline? students on a high level challenge and to be challenged and we have to continue to provide that but we have a huge challenge with schools in the indian country. we are working very closely with the bureau of indian affairs, department of interior who

manages this of schools on reservations and we have to give those children inh want to redue those unemployment rates. >> host: question right up front. go ahead, please. >> negative joshua griffin from greenville north carolina. can you tell what the dream act is, how it relates to students and what is in force? >> guest: this goes back to the immigration question i strongly support and what would basically do is allow students who, you know, may not have the immigration status yet in place have the chance to go to college and have their financial aid just like to have the opportunity to do that. and when i ran on the chicago public schools about one third of my students came from the hispanic community. a decent percentage where students who didn't quite of the immigration status right but these students were working hard, going to school trying to be successful and then they want to go to college and have to pay out of state rates to go to and in state school and it makes it on affordable song because something i support.

senter durbin was one of the sponsors of it and we continue to work hard to make sure every student in this country is the chance to get a grade education. >> host: right over here. the head with your question. >> caitlin from north carolina. some students, teachers and parents believe that the federal government and even some of the school systems like superintendents' don't have enough experience and, like, being inside of the school and knowing exactly how it runs, so they can't possibly have the best policies for the students and for the school system. what are your views on that and how do you propose to fix to have more personal experiences to get >> guest: i agree and one of the most important things we can do is provide flexibility to local and educators to buy julca before i came to washington i didn't think the good ideas come from washington and no time in washington negative ago ideas don't come from washington. they come from the local level,

teachers, school boards working hard together to help students be successful. so part of what we want to do is realize speed is if flexible with a local level. hopeful accountable results but i can't micromanage -- anyone know how many schools we of in this country? any guesses how many schools? take a guess. >> you have the microphone. how many schools do you think we have right now? >> a lot. [laughter] >> host: safe answer. >> guest: about 100,000 schools. we can't micromanage 100,000 schools in washington, don't want to, can't do it. we want a high bar for success and hold people accountable but we want to give local educators ages to be flexible and creative, they know their students, communities, strengths and weaknesses, and that local flexibility and a chance to innovate is with we want to bring forward. >> host: it on to put anybody on the spot but if you could change one thing about your school, what would it be in terms of academics or five the

way the schools ron? of semidey once the answer that question that we will go to your question next. >> i am erica meijer from minnesota. because there is such a wide range of standardized test results, do you believe that the educational standards of these tests should be raised to further push students or lower to insure a better chance of more students exceed the standards? >> guest: this should not be lowered. they must absolutely be raised. when we dum-dum standards we lie to children. but to give an example. many states have unfortunately done this. something we are pushing extraordinarily hard against. illinois did that, lower standards. let me tell you what we're doing when we were standards, we are lying to you and parents. if you're told in fifth or sixth grade your quote on quote meeting the state standard, the rational, logical assumption is you are doing okay. you are on check to be successful, when in fact many places the standards have been dumbed down so much the students quote on quote meaning the standard are barely able to graduate high school and they

are totally inadequately prepared to be successful in college. as we have to raise the bar to get we have to raise expectations for students, for schools, for the country and have the high bar, help you get there, and very open and honest with you every step along the education journey. these are your strengths and weaknesses. this is what we have to work on to be successful. what bothers me of some students to work hard, get to be on track as a senior or junior and realize how far behind the arc. we have to raise standards three >> host: janet joining from the land. good morning to you. >> caller: excellent, the young lady's question is what i was concerned with. right now we are big trouble with a standardized testing where if those tests become so important people work cheating in order to maintain their schools, my question is so many standardized testing is it was like the psa t and these kids.

you are taking so much away with the standardized testing of the basic curriculum is due to the standardized testing and these kids are missing out on so much imagination and capability within the teachers who are getting so frustrated because everything circles abound standardized testing. >> host: we will get a response. >> guest: it is a recurring theme on the country. this idea having every child have a well-rounded curriculum cannot be in more important. i promised students getting a good well-rounded education the tests will take care of themselves. they will do just fine if they are comfortable, continent, have the knowledge we can stop worrying that we have to get back to a well-rounded education. >> host: to could change one thing about your school. what is your name and where are you from? >> i'm from nebraska and i would change how our schools and use the fine arts because we've got a little theater taken away to

make, like a fitness center for all of the sports people. and so now we have to go down to the elementary on their little stage i guess so we have to do our plays and stuff there. so that is what i would change, fine arts. >> guest: all these things, fine arts are hugely important, sports are important. we shouldn't be competing with each of the. i would like to hear -- you are doing well, you are engaged, involved in extracurricular, but if we look to the average high school around the country basically every four seats, steve, somebody would be dropping out. and if some many places it is actually one out of two. so i would love to ask students here what can we do collectively to dramatically reduce the dropout rate? how we make sure students are in the school's successful planning for your future? what can we do with national and local level kosko level to reduce the dropout rate to zero as quickly as we can? >> host: would you like to answer that question? no? >> i have a different question to get >> host: let's go back and come back to you in a moment.

how would you answer the secretaries questioned? how would you reduce the dropout rate? >> i was going to go back to the change the school. change the dropout rate? i don't know. try to instill as much as you can as early in age as possible. dr. a fervor for learning and wanting to achieve academically and wanting to get to the higher level of learning to read >> guest: thank you. >> i don't know how you do that but i guess it starts with the parents and teachers. so. >> host: keeps going back to the parents. >> guest: parents are due july important. great teachers are important. we have to make sure every child has an adult in their life helping them through good times and bad. and many of us, when i was growing up i was lucky to have two parents. not every child today is that lucky. and we have to make sure if

parents are doing it great, if parents are not doing it you can't get on that child. the teacher, counselor, somebody from the community, church member, coach, somebody has to step up and be a positive influence. >> host: florida, welcome to the program. >> caller: hello. can you hear me? >> host: we sure. good morning. >> caller: i have a question sure the audience is we to kill me for. i am 44-years-old and i am going to be a teacher. i also a mother and i've been a real mother, and during my time in the classroom i've noticed that from eight through two, when my children go to school, it isn't a principal amount of time and i was thinking maybe you guys could extend the school time to make it more so the teachers have more time because it seems like they have specials, then they have to go to lunch and they have this and that -- crusco we will ask them. how many of you would prefer to go to school longer during the day?

just a handful. how many say it's just about right? [laughter] ok. >> caller: i do have another question though, if i could. i also have a question about teachers that shouldn't be in the classroom, and i'm sure the students could relate to this. some of the teachers in the classroom just can't be fired because their tenure or whatever. they shouldn't probably be teachers anymore because they just don't want to be there. how many students like the teachers don't want to be there and they don't care about them? >> host: interesting. secretary? >> guest: i want to thank you for coming into education. we are going to need about a million new teachers over the next four, five, eight years in america. baby boom generation is moving toward retirement so bringing the next generation of talent will shape education for a long time. thank you for that. a think all of you have extraordinary teachers and i know that one teacher for me, mr. campbell, high school english teacher that pushed me to do things i didn't think was possible, and we will have those

extraordinary teachers at jinja our lives and unfortunately we've had those teachers that maybe didn't care as much as we would like them to and didn't understand how important their impact was on us and i think we have to do both. a much better job before and excellence. so many teachers are on some heroes that go beyond the called duty. working ten, 12 hour days at home preparing. other teachers are not -- maybe the best attention but it's not working for the students to reward the excellence we need to deal much more honestly where it isn't working. >> host: right up front. good morning to you. >> peter, san francisco california. if there was -- you mentioned good test scores come with good education and confidence but for sood and dee dee koza to students the confidence just isn't there and task taking is difficult. if i were to change one thing about my school it would be to at investor or include an s.a.t. horse de ander mize test strategy for sophomores and juniors given the importance of standardized testing. >> guest: that's a very good

idea. that kind of stuff can be learned i think fairly easily. the harder part is to understand the content as i keep going back to the greater teaching and helping the test taking skills. that should be a minor part and you spend all your time learning how to take tests. that's not what you need. you need to have the knowledge and we can help around the mall which on building the confidence. >> host: the one you to be honest about this, the next question. are you in there is to raise your hand to ask a question, do you feel you are the kind of person that would raise your hand all the time and say i don't understand what this is about to explain this to me again. >> i guess i will ask questions, but i find myself on the test warlike confused and nervous than during the class i guess. >> host: how many of you are afraid to ask your teacher for a follow-up that you don't understand something you just kind of sit there quietly? be honest. the hands are slowly going up. >> guest: yeah.

it's hard. it's hard to make yourself vulnerable if you think the teacher doesn't care passionately about you. but again, most hands stay down which i think's it's a lot of folks here have confidence and have good teachers that if they ask a question that teacher is going to be there for them. >> host: over here. >> i'm from boise idaho, and earlier you were talking about the college graduates and how we are not raising, rising with the other countries. so i was wondering why do you think cutting budgets and higher education schools is necessary if it would just take away scholarships and make it harder for people who can't afford college to go. >> guest: in what he brought that up. i worry tremendously going to college has never been more important, it's never been more expensive and the nation's families have never been more financially distressed. we have parents who are losing jobs, taking pay cuts and this economy is tough. we have a bill -- this is fantastic for you guys to be in washington -- a bill that's passed the house going to senate, part of the health care bill that run higher education and it will allow us to put an

additional $36 billion into pell grants to make college more affordable over the next decade not just for you guys but you're done for brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and children in the neighborhood. and we have to invest. this is an interesting one, this is a great lesson in politics. we are going to put about $60 billion into higher education, increased kuhl grants, money for community colleges, money to reduce loan repayments once you graduate from college. we are going to do all of this without going back to the tax payers for another dietary we are going to stop subsidizing banks have been making the loans to you and put that money into education. it seems like the absolute right thing to do. stop subsidizing banks and investment education. but this has been a huge debate. the banks have had a good deal for a long time. they have spent billions of dollars to hire lobbyists. the have run ads in many states. and families like yours don't have lobbyists.

families like yours can't hire advertising firms to put together a tv ads, is this is the net fascinating one. i think it is totally the right thing to do. the house has passed, the bill was going before congress to read how many times to have a chance in life to invest $60 billion in education without going back to taxpayers? it's a phenomenal, breathtaking opportunity and i'm very hopeful it will pass the senate this begin to become law and in college more affordable for all of you and your brothers and sisters. >> host: how long have you known the president? >> guest: the first time i met him, 15 or 16 years probably. >> host: what is he like a basketball court? >> guest: he can play. he's fun to play with. super smart, not surprisingly. >> host: need details. >> guest: competitor, please to win, great crossover dribble and likes to bask in the score but we have a lot of fun together. >> host: who scores more points, and you were the president? >> guest: we both do okay. [laughter] >> host: we will go to boston. you can follow if you want. go ahead.

>> caller: so many things have been said that my initial thought is this is secondary now because the secretary hit on something that i won't say kids because they seem to be more advanced students and that was my original thought that it seems now that schools take care of the advanced students and -- which is maybe like ten per cent, and the rest of the group are thrown into one. where is 20, 30 years ago it was in that way. and it wasn't a matter of not having self-esteem. it was a reality that every kid can't be an honor student. and sometimes it is the parents that are to blame for too much pressure on children. sorry for referring to u.s. kids. but it's like a little league pennant or soccer parent that pushes the kids out quickly. they want the kid to do too well and there's a happy medium where a student might be better off in a technical school, might be

better off -- you know what i'm saying. in other words, you all don't have to be advanced students. >> host: we will get a response. thank you. >> guest: it is a great point. the president has to do is a graduate high school. there are no good jobs for a high school dropout. there's almost no good jobs if you to set a high school diploma. there has to be some form of higher education. so i eckert, four year universities, to your community colleges, triet, technical vocational training whenever it might become a case for 12 education has to be not an ending point, not a stopping point, but has to be preparing you for the next step on the education churning and it doesn't matter what it is, and students can figure out the passion is and what they love to providing community colleges have been sort of this list jim on the education continuum. we want to invest $2 billion in community colleges that some form of education beyond high school has to be the goal for every single child in every civil student in this country. >> host: secretary donner given before we get the last

question to the news of the gators a front-page story in this a >> caller: sometimes in "chicago tribune" that when you had the part of education in chicago that there is a list that you kept in order to help some of the city officials and make sure their students went to the more elite schools. did you see the story, do you want to respond? >> guest: what we tried to do is be responsive to everybody. whether it was a politician or somebody's parents, you know, wanting to know where their child got and we are for the information on the principles and made those decisions, not us. they had discretion and we tried to be responsive and the school system of 400,000 students when they go to the dry cleaners and you get questions and when you want is not a face of bureaucracy, you want to be responsive center to give people an answer from this, no, whatever it is and that is made at the local school level. >> host: so no special treatment? >> guest: zero. ashura for the, again, parents, politicians, community members, they just want to know what the story was and try to get them an

answer but the decisions were made principles that 5% discretion, that was made at the local school level. >> host: the focus on the kids that can't keep up but what about the kids laugh intellectually outgrown the curriculum? how do we help them? >> guest: we think ap class is, taking college class is it's a junior or senior even sophomore is a huge deal. we want to invest on hundred million to makes sure children have those opportunities. sallai kinkos higher level classis, raising expectations is hugely important and all of those opportunities we can't do enough of those. we see wonderful partnerships between for your institutions, to your community colleges with high schools. just ask, again, a show of hands, how many of you here can take a college level class if you want, and ap, toole indolent? i love that. i'm thrilled. i want to make sure every child, every student in this country has those opportunities. host when we to ask you to fall

about. what advice would you give the secretary on this point? >> guest: >> i think the schools need to look closer at kids like maybe the grades are low but they've been overachieving constantly and get the border and stop, that's what i've done that in our schools we don't offer advanced class is. you are in one class and the class moves as fast as the slowest person and again to the summit in general needs to look more options to keep the kids in school because dropping out when your board is a big issue. >> guest: it is part of this budget we want to invest $100 million to create those opportunities for high school students to take the college level courses. it is a big deal. >> host: did you learn anything this morning? >> guest: i've got a lot of confidence in our people. this is smart -- every time i meet with students i'm inspired and i think that we as adults have to do a better job of helping you fulfill your tremendous potential. students was not compassionate, committed. they don't just want to be successful themselves. they want to help their peers and create the opportunity of i want to thank you for the upset when you're sitting for the country. i think if more readily

understood your passion and how serious you were, i think we would invest more in education, and the more your voice is heard the more you are letting people know how serious you are about getting an education. that is a good thing but i want to speak to you for taking education seriously and this is a pretty remarkable group. >> host: psychiatry arne duncan on the half the students here, thank you for joining us. we appreciate your time [applause] >> on tomorrows

our commitment to israel's security and israel's future is rock-solid, unwavering, enduring and forever. >> with the secretary of state, senator, first lady or attorney hillary clinton in 1991 to can search it, click it, sherrod and more on line at the new c-span video library to read with the 160,000 our videos and 115,000 people every c-span program

since 1987. it is c-span video library, cable's latest gift to america. today the senate transportation committee considered the nomination of retired general robert harding to hit the transportation security at mission. the previous nominee withdrew in the face of republican opposition. center john rockefeller chaired this hourlong hearing. the hearing will come to order as soon as i pour my water. even generals have to have water sometimes. we're here to consider the nomination of major general robert harding to be the administrator the long awaited

extremely long awaited desperately needed transportation security administrator tsa. first of what a welcome and congratulate mr. harding and also your wife who is with you. you do recognize your wife, right? [laughter] i would like to have her stand so we can -- tbb hutcheson and i can see her. that's right. that's good. committee practice. i want to congratulate you for your service to the nation. i said that to you. you've got an incredibly long record of service in the intelligence field and national security in general. we simply cannot ignore the fact that transportation administration has had no administrator, note leader of the team. all kind of things have happened. but for various reasons we just

have not having the leader of the team and i think we've got one now. the atom to christmas the attack and was treated the absolute need for tsa director. it's extraordinarily important post and it's you know, you preside over 500, 700 million passengers flying in this country and well over a billion in another five or six or seven years. our enemy as you know so well are persistent, dangerous, and we all know they planned new attacks, always planning new attacks. we need a highly qualified, strong administrator to lead in the workforce and protecting the country against future attacks. and i have no doubt that major general robert harding is ready and qualified to lead the agency effectively.

before retiring he served 33 years and developed extensive intelligence experience in the united states army material on that. during his time in the army major general harding served as the draft of operations at the defense intelligence agency that is just below the guide that drexel holding, director of operations, director of the agency. there's not much difference. the director for intelligence for the army u.s. southern command in several other important positions and with such a strong background in intelligence and security and such strong management and leadership experience i believe major general harding has the skills to make a positive and needed impact at the agency. i worry about that agency and morrell. i worry about equipment and a lot of things which we can talk about. mr. harding, the commerce committee is a significant role in homeland security oversight. we share that with another

committee. should you become firmly intend to work with you to make sure tsa succeeds. i'm particularly interested in having tea is a complete its ongoing cargo and surface transportation initiatives in approving the security of general aviation which is a subject that is rarely discussed but much in need of discussion and helping to develop and implement new technologies that will advance commercial aviation security. i also expect you to work with congress to make sure that tsa has the funds to secure the transportation system in other words we have oversight. we share oversight in the committee but we also are here to help you and we want you to have the budget you need and we are all aware of the president's constraints but we are also aware of our national needs. i said this before and i will sing it again this is one of the toughest positions in washington because the safety and security of the system is the most solemn

responsibility. and you have that so directly. the attempted christmas day attack made it absolutely clear that we continue to struggle to share intelligence effectively across agencies. it's quite remarkable if you do reading on you and your experiences and on the intelligence community which i know from service on the committee 9/11 got us a little bit of shared information but not much and it's not where it should be. the fbi is and where it should be and nobody is where they should be. so, secure good intelligence, protecting citizens but knowing what's going to happen before it happens is often the best way to protect them. if we are serious about addressing the gaps in both homeland security and intelligence community there is substantial work still to be done. so, in closing to before we need

effective leaders of the key agencies like tsa. we need somebody who can hit the ground running and provide clear direction. mr. harding, general harding, whatever you wish, a distinguished career in both government and private sector where he gained a strong management and leadership skills that the position demands made mechem a good fit for the mission. on that i am clear. as you know the nature of the job is that you listen to many complaints and get no praise. but together i believe we can work to make tsa successful. i look forward to your testimony major general harding and call now upon my distinguished colleague ranking members senator kay bailey hutchison. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i will not take long. i will say i think the service to your country, 33 years is

very impressive, and being a deputy chief of staff of the army director of operations for the defense intelligence agency are great qualifications for this job and i agree with the chairman and it's one of the toughest jobs in all of government because so many people depend on the safety of our air travelling system as well as surface traveling system and i think the chairman mentioned, but i am in complete agreement that we have i think put so much emphasis on aviation safety as we should that perhaps we haven't looked enough that surface transportation safety for the buses and trains, and i think that's something that you are going to have to take under your purview. one of the issues that i want to make sure we are also addressing

is federal law as you know does prohibit screeners in the tsa from striking. however, there are efforts ongoing for collective bargaining by the tsa screeners and previous tsa batvinis traders -- administrators said they would be concerned about collective bargaining of allowing the flexibility that you need to be able to deploy forces to a certain area of an airport or to a certain airport to change the working hours at a crisis or an emergency is not hand. so i hope that you will also be looking at the flexibility of the work force and the need for that flexibility as one of your priorities. so, with that i would like to go on to questions if the chairman

is ready because i have a hearing at 10:00 that i also am the ranking member on. >> go ahead. >> thank you. let me ask you first on the issue of collective bargaining for the screeners how would you handle that in your capacity as the leader of this agency? >> senator hutchinson, thank you for asking the question. i am familiar with the issue and since being asked to consider the position i've studied it. i recognize all parties agreed under the same thing that you just indicated. all parties agree on the need for flexibility and agility. all parties agree on the necessity for the batvinis reader to have the ability to move the screeners at a moment's notice and response or prior to

a terrorist incident. everyone seems to agree that we need to strengthen security. if confirmed, i would love to have the opportunity to broaden the experience that i have already had in looking into this by talking to a very broad cross section of the transportation security officers, of other members of tsa as well as members in dhs, and as i flew in for 33 years in military and especially in my last few years as a flag officer provide the best advice i can to the decision making in this case the secretary. and i think the secretary had i a arriving at a decision will be very concerned about the implementation of such change if it was to be accepted. again, we both agree, senator,

but we would never bargain away security but we probably also both agree that we really need to do an in-depth review before i inform the secretary of my recommendation. >> well, i'd understand your inability to make a clear answer but i'm going to be very interested in following this, because i just think that there are some jobs that are not nine to five, and when people apply for them they should know it's not mine to five and security and law enforcement, military as well are those kinds of jobs, and so i hope that you will be very forthcoming on this because it will be of great concern to many of us.

speaking of that, i also want to ask the question that i asked of every one of our nominees who is going to be in a position to run an agency or have a major commission appointment, and that is we rely on an open dialogue with people who we confirm as part of our oversight responsibility, and i want to ask you if all members of committees and staff can count on the cooperative relationship with your agency and with you as we go forward. >> senator, you can count on that. >> thank you. let me ask you one other question and that is on your -- your previous company that you found and have since sold,

harding security associates. i think that some of our staff have talked to you about what your plans are for recusal of yourself, from contracts that might be coming up just within a few months of your confirmation i think maybe july of this year, your recusal previous commitment would run out. how do you intend to handle contract that might come up in key areas of the transportation security agency with your former clients from your private sector position following the retirement? >> senator, i would recuse myself as you indicated. four things come to mind. one, i worked for quite a few weeks with the office of government ethics.

i decided in working with the office of the government ethics to draw a line and go out and about what blood normally be expected of the nominee. so i met the hurdle of the normal expectation which is the ethics pledge as well as i am sorry the ethics regulation as well as president obama's pledge and that would mean it would recuse myself from any dealings with my former company which i walked away from and have no connection with. i would in addition recuse myself in this very bright line and up and above what is normally expected in a regulation and the pledge i would recuse myself from dealing with any companies that actually worked with my company and that would be according to the office of government recommendation for a year from the sale of the company.

>> all right. i may want to pursue that further when i look at what some of the relationships are with former clients, but i need to get a clear list, so could buy submit a question to you in writing or leader? >> of some of the senator. we have all of that listed and i would be glad to provide that to you. >> okay. last question then, and i appreciate the chairman's indulgence is on surface transportation. 60% of the president's budget request for 2011 is aviation security. 2% is for surface transportation security, yet we have seen in other places severe attacks and trains as well as buses and other types of public

transportation service transportation. what would be your commitment in looking at what can be done in the surface transportation areas to increase the priorities? >> that is a very important question. and i think the answer is informed by intelligence, and as we've discussed intelligence is the common denominator across all modes of transportation. we have actually seen as you indicated where a threat if they could not attack by air would look for other modes of transportation. i would welcome the opportunity if confirmed to work with stakeholders in of looking at a systematic way of applying threat and risk management and risk mitigation across all modes of transportation. i recognize that would be my responsibility if confirmed. all i applaud the fact tsa has already recognized the

intermodal nature of the transportation system that work to safeguard allows examples like the viper teams, the visible intermodal protection and reaction teams that you see providing visible examples of how the injury agencies come together in things like other than aviation. i think initiatives like that are very important both because of the visibility as well as they are inherent bringing together of the injured agencies and i would like if confirmed to continue that process and finally, combining as a threat that we would work with the dhs on, the intelligence and analysis, karen why have the fortune of working with for 15 years, we would apply both the

resources and budget appropriately across all love the tsa based on what we see as a threat. specs before mr. sherman very much. >> thank you, senator hutchison. it's interesting the way we react in america. we react to events. we don't see them coming as well as we should. and you sort of intersect both responsibility but also the intelligence aspect working out to find where things may be coming from and when you look back after the eshoo bomber -- shoe bomber we started taking our shoes off and that was fine. loafers onshore wind up in the stock market. and then after the 2006

commercial departing from london, all of a sudden we were down to 3 ounces and anything over 3 ounces what is not acceptable, and that sort of sums up in my thinking the question that perplexes me. you have a limited amount of money that's going to remain so. on the other hand, i really do believe in intelligence. i really do believe putting it bluntly that leon panetta has made one heck of a difference in what is going on in afghanistan and parts of pakistan. he does that through intelligence. he does that through other methods. but that's proactive. that's looking before something

happens, taking care of a problem before something happens. so, help me understand in your mind the difference between getting the passenger getting on the airplane and putting the person down, putting them through screenings, wide body imaging when that comes as opposed or not as opposed to put in conjunction with spending money and time on the intelligence that leads you to warnings. now that's a very hard question because there are so many people and so many places. but you come from that background. i believe in what i say but i'm not sure what the proper balance is. maybe you could give me your

views. >> mr. chairman, a very good point what were describing is the difference between 100% risk avoidance and risk management which also describing is the chances that we are willing to take in a very measured way using intelligence applied to risk management. tsa i noticed is going in that direction there for the product list referred to changed over time. i think if confirmed things like the product list need to continue to evolve. but more importantly, to your point, intelligence, the choice between pure risk avoidance in this nation and being informed by intelligence i would choose to be informed by intelligence. i would choose to make decisions based on the intelligence that we gather. i would choose to be proactive member of the intelligence community working with my colleague at the department of

homeland security, karen lakner on the intelligence analysis piece. i would choose to use that intelligence effectively, again, has sent senator hutchinson pointed out, in applying resources across the entire transportation system. and i would use intelligence and a way that would allow our stakeholders and more important the american public to understand what we are doing, why we are doing it, to the extent possible i would share intelligence with a stakeholders that include the association's even industry we would look to to help us on the technological side, to help us not just meet the threat but to stay ahead of the threat. we have to be proactive. this committee especially recognize these the evolving nature of the threat. what we have to do is stay ahead of the threat and the bottom line, mr. chairman, is i think through the use of intelligence,

correct application of intelligence, being a productive member in the intelligence community, using that to inform stakeholders and of why resources is what will help us move forward both technologically and keeping up and head of the threat and moving away from things that appear to be more security theater than actual security. >> i think i got that. i'm not totally sure that i did. can you give me an example of where, and then this will be my last question and we will go on to others, where intelligence has been helpful. have you perhaps heard about with respect to potentially dangerous passengers? >> in the run-up to these hearings i've had briefings.

but i can't go into detail here but i have had briefings where the intelligence that tsa is using has indicated how of the threat plans to hire and conceal devices as an example, and i've seen measures been put into place in airports on how we check passengers based on that intelligence. >> thank you. senator of lemieux. >> thank you. general harding, thank you again for putting yourself for a public service after 33 years been a general in charge of the defense intelligence agency i think that you have the experience for the job and i'm glad the president has put forth somebody that has this intelligence focus. you and i spoke about this when

we met previous to today's hearing and in your testimony you speak of also he will be a consumer of intelligence that you will work closely with your partners in the intelligence community to improve the kind of information needed and you talked about working with ms. wagner. i think the american people expect that someone with a position like yours as meeting on a regular basis with the other folks fighting this war on terror. then you are meeting with the director of national intelligence, meeting with the head of the cia and secretary of defense or their sarah get and i hope that he will push for that type of collaborative working relationship because i think you having that information is essential to doing the job that you need to do to protect the american people. is that something that you agree with? >> absolutely, senator. >> also as we discussed in my office is the idea of not just

using intelligence which i appreciate and applaud but also the idea of using technology. we send everyone through basically the same security whether they are a 4-year-old, 85-year-old or a 20-year-old male from a foreign country, and i want you to speak if you will about the idea of using behavioral screening, about new technologies that are available looking at models for example was used in israel where they've been tremendously successful in stopping terrorists on the plains, a country that is even more targeted and we are and how we can use technology with intelligence to put together something like a threat index that would allow those for example you are of no threat, you should be a zero on the threat index, but there are others that should be checked more closely. how can we differentiate the way that we treat people through the process so that we could

expedite those people who are not of a threat but to pay close attention to those who might be? >> very good question, senator. the transportation security administration has started the process of fleering security. part of the layers of security speak to your point on behavior detection so that tsa has deployed be your detection officers and airports. i think the number is up close to around 2,000. you compare that to your example on israel and even though there is a difference in scale, some of the things we see from our is really partners and friends is the use of engagement. we've just started to do that in the tsa. it's not at the same level being done in israel but it started with a one week course program for the tso to engage.

it's followed by supervisors taking another week and those kind of engagements. i agree with you that we should move even closer to an israeli model where there is more engagement with passengers. i think that increases the layers and pushes the players out. i think that is a very important aspect of providing security is engaging the public. the last point is one of the things i was informed of this in the israeli model is training, more training and drills, and if confirmed, i would look forward to working with my 48,000 trademark -- at tso and that their training goes further than where we are presently and move

toward the model of training and trilling, and i feel he would see a change very fast. is to make a final question that is appropriate to anyone from a governmental agency and that is the idea of using performance metrics and other tools not unlike the military uses to ensure you are getting the most out of the dollar's the american taxpayer is funding in your agency. we don't see very good job in government making sure we are doing things efficiently and effectively, and it's not a sexy topic for folks who run agencies to drill down and find out whether or not the resources are being used in the best possible way but i would ask you and hope to get your commitment this morning that upon your confirmation when you take up your post that you will use performance evaluations and metrics and do everything you can not only as an agency head but a manager to make sure the american taxpayer is getting its

money's worth. >> you have my commitment, senator. >> thank you. >> let me just say before i call on senator warner that we have an awkward situation this morning in that we are having the signing of the health bill at the white house and we have to leave at 10:15 from this room, senator warner and i. so what you will be doing -- amy klobuchar tiemann and left but she had to go but she had a series of questions that she is going to send you and i think what we are going to be giving -- i'm going to be doing that on the air cargo screening, general aviation and other things simply because this is a rather large occasion that people have been working for for a long time. but any chance, please understand that we are not giving you short shrift. >> i totally understand

mr. chairman. >> senator warner. >> thank you, mr. chairman. general harding, maybe it is a good idea that we are leaving for the hearing in the same group. i will be brief recognizing time constraints, let me first of all ago with my colleagues have said and it's good to see you again and i think the president has chosen well someone with your unique background and qualifications and i think that you'll be a great tsa administrator and i look forward to working with you. i want to also add a kind of dido agreement with my colleague, senator lemieux, as a former business got a i'm focused on biometrics and so want to reinforce what my colleague had said and i also will be looking for those kind of metrics performance metrics and milestones within the tsa. i want to very quickly raised

two questions that are perhaps a little bit parochial in nature but i think they actually have applications beyond the specific circumstances of each of the issues i'm going to raise. first is a circumstance and i think this happened beyond just at an airport beyond just the airport i'm going to raise where tsa made commitments that have not come through the circumstance and case in point i'm going to raise is the richmond airport. the richmond airport back in 2004 was doing a significant upgrade its facilities. it was tsa asked to the inline explosive detection systems richmond said they would go ahead and start down this path. tsa committed to work with richmond airport. tsa said, i don't even have all the data here coming into thousand five well we don't have the money right now, but you guys keep on going and we will be there for you. richmond airport proceeded to go ahead and put in this state of

the art detection system at tsa request. the finished the system in 2007. $3.6 million additional still no payment. and in terms of via i think it's bad business, if it is also bad faith and an example of not the kind of a collaborative effort to want to have with your local airport authorities. so i raise this with you. as of your predecessors. i would really love to hear an explanation of how not only the specific circumstance of richmond will be dealt with but my understanding there are other airports around the country have made investments in current technology at the request of tsa but have not been reimbursed for that. are you familiar with this circumstance in richmond with the other airports? >> senator, i'm familiar with the circumstance of richmond and other airports and i agree with

the sentiment and have confirmed you have my commitment i will work in to that. >> is that confirmation in richmond at even getting paid? >> senator, you have my confirmation that i promised to look into it. to be very candid with you when i first discussed this with members of tsa i asked to have it broken out much like you from a business point of view, very understanding how the commitments it made by the government and what i wanted to do is ask all of those kind of commitments whether the airports believe they were made or not if they have something in writing, let me look at those and the broad range of them and then lets just do what's right. i promise even before your question to look at that, senator, and if confirmed i promise you also get back to you. >> thank you. i haven't seen or heard anything from richmond that there was any lack of or miss understanding -- i think i've got the documentation, i will forward it to you if it will be helpful.

there didn't seem to be any doubt at least anybody on the richmond side that there was any ambiguity about the tsa asking for this current technology to be implemented and number two that tsa would be responsible for the reimbursement. thank you for that. ..

the workforce is very important to me and that will go to the issue of morale. i can tell you that if comparisons that have been made, that the transportation security officer is 48,0002 larger organizations that have been around for a long time compared to the tsa which has been around for nine years. i find it interesting, there were things i think we need to do in tsa because it is so large and because it is across 450 airports that are little different than what we have seen under agencies. if confirmed senator morale of the tso workforce is very high priority of mine. >> thank you general harding and thank you mr. chairman.

>> thank you senator warner very much. senator klobuchar is on her way back and wants to ask a question. let me just ask a quick one. over a period of years i have been very frustrated by sort of the special treatment of general aviation. they don't carry their weight financially and paying for the air traffic control system and i'm talking about the one that we have, which isn't any good but also about the one which we want, nexgen which will be very good. so the legacy, the legacy airlines are the ones that have to pay the freight, but they are not actually even the majority of planes in the sky at any given moment. general aviation usually is, so my question to you is, so called the large aircraft security program, would you put it as a top priority to consider developing a national strategy for how gaa functions in an

appropriate or proportionate way within our national air traffic situation? >> mr. chairman if confirmed, i totally agree with you, it would be to look at general aviation not just at the threat that from the point of view as a stakeholder, and as an industry that is just as concerned with security as the rest of us are. i would make that a very high priority to bring them into the fold, and to make them part of how we view tsa views the total transportation network. >> i think that they are kind of the weak link in fact in the situation that you face because there is no-- you you go out to dulles and you just walk onto a charter airplane or whatever. you are not checked.

your baggage is not checked. it could be anybody. it is quite remarkable. it is true all over the country as far as i no, and i think that not just in the funding, the financing of the system but also just as a weak link factor. it is very dangerous, and a lot of people use it. so you will take a look at it? >> mr. chairman, i promise not only working with the stakeholders in general aviation but working with your committee also. i think it is very important. you and i discuss my experience in your experience using general aviation. i think we agree that general aviation needs to be as informed of the threat and prepared for it as the rest of the transportation modes that we are responsible for, and it is something that would make very high priority and looking into it senator. >> you understand their frame of mind is very different.

i mean they don't consider themselves really a part of it because they are privately owned they picked their own routes and do their own thing but they use the air traffic control system just the same as anybody else. i am not talking about cropduster's or even king air's. i am talking about the small jets on up. and, i have tried to address that in several ways and it is just amazing what few phonecalls will do from some of these people that own those jets, show shutting down action in congress and it is not good. so i just put that before you and now i call upon my esteemed colleague, senator klobuchar who was going to share this. this. >> thank you very much senator rockefeller. i am catching my breath. i literally ran here general harding. thank you very much and it was good meeting with you in my

office the other day and i want to tango charlie rockefeller for holding this hearing on this important nomination. the position of tsa administration, administrator as we know is one of the most important positions in the administration. that was made very clear to us on christmas day and as you know that involved involve the northwest airlines flight which northwest originally based in minnesota and now delta, so we really care a lot about this issue. i first wanted to ask you about your background in intelligence and how you feel your military in private-sector background are going to help to inform you to work to protect america's transportation security? >> in three areas senator. my 33 years in the military and rising to the rank of major-general has helped helped me understand management practices and principles that senator warner just implicated as far as morale and workforce

and i think that is very important. my years in the intelligence community and most of my 33 years in the army i spent within the intelligence community were also important to tsa in being able to inform tsa across the board on this thread, the threat to aviation, the threat to all modes of transportation and i think the associations that i've had in the intelligence community to include my professional association with karen wagner who is the head of intelligence for dhs as well as throughout the intelligence community is very important and i think would help tsa. finally i think my experience in the industry, where i learned that attention to both the client as well as being a very attentive to the backroom is very important, and i think all three, my experience in the army

with management and leadership to experience in the intelligence community which i think would inform tsa, to my experience as a small-business owner and creating 400 jobs is very important in some skills that i would like to bring to the job if confirmed. >> thank you. one of the things that i know secretary napolitano has been working on this but actually working with some of the private sector and with the airline dummies policies especially overseas is very important because as you know, as we transition and our security and the watch list and how things are handled differently, we still have the issue and a lot of the airports around the country it is the airlines that are on the frontline in terms of sort of having the responsibility for these lists. could you comment about how you see that relationship? >> i see that relationship evolving senator. the watch list itself in the process as you know is undergoing a review of being led

by john brennan at the president's direction. i am very familiar with how the screening database informs both are selected with the no-fly list in how we are moving into secure flight. if confirmed, i would like to sit with the participants and the presidents review, look at some of the preliminary findings and hopefully be a stakeholder in the results. and participate in how we shape a watch list system that is understandable, transparent at least to the extent it can be to the intelligence community and most importantly as effective as we can make it. >> very good. now i would like to hear your thoughts on the full-body scanners. i think i explained to you in my office, i am someone with a hip replacement that gets patted down each time and this is kind of appealing to me that i won't have to have this happen in front of my constituents every single time i go through the line but obviously the real

reason to do it is not for the convenience of travelers but for safety. is still uncertainty of someone about this new technology, but also there is great potential with it. so could you talk about your views about these full-body scanners and how you think they should be rolled out? >> you hit the nail on the head. it is the best technology we have right now. i did get a chance to visit the entire process at reagan airport about a week ago. i think one of my major concerns was from the privacy point of view. i entered a booth at reagan airport that is separated from where the machine was. the machine is one of those millimeterwave type genes. as i entered the booth, my phone , my iphone was taken away from me. i tested that to see whether or not somebody was conscious enough to say this is something you can't bring into the booth and as they entered the booth i

got a chance to talk to the tso who was sitting there with a screen. and i asked exactly what he was doing and apparently a woman was entering the millimeterwave machine. she had an object on her left leg, middle. the tso hit his whisper device that communicated to the tso on site and pointed out that location. the woman then went back through and it was something in her pocket that subsequently was removed. i then looked at the computer back in the booth and asked the screener how can he save that image which he could not do. i am not a cyberexpert but i could tell the way the computer was figured that it had no storage. i then tried to exit the room before the woman had left her second screening and i couldn't. i wasn't allowed to. therefore when she was clear i was able to leave the room after seeing that image.

i was convinced that day that privacy became, was very important as these whole body imaging machines were put into airports. i am still working to come to grips with this but rent in every airport with the implementation of cross all 450 airports and other things attendant to the technology improvement of those machines. i think in the future you will see those machines improved, but i also believe that somehow, and there is a lifecycle of about eight years i think on those machines, so sometime, i would believe in the next two or three years as a next-generation type of technology that we need to be looking at, that can get it better and more capable the use of the threat. >> because i think we saw like with those puff portals, now there are 22 operating and those didn't exactly work the way people thought they would so i would imagine that there would

he advances in technology as we go forward. the second thing which we touched on was just the secure flight program and the changeover to that with the watch list. and, in light of christmas bombing attempt, and other issues that have come out about the watch list, kind of the counter is that you have people on this list that shouldn't be on this list and i think i mentioned to you the baby going to disneyland from minnesota who have a common last name, and the family weren't able to board the nate-- the plane because his name was on a watch list years ago. i think it may have been fixed in the last few years that he encountered problems in the years afterward. at the same time you have people like the christmas day bomber whose name didn't appear on the list, so what do you think needs to be done to fix it? >> i think we need to continue moving in the direction of secure flight. i think moving the threat thread

list into the handset tsa to do the screening is very important. i think the redress program is something that the american traveling public has been asking for for a long time and from the briefings i have received senator that seems to be proceeding at pace but the final line is i think we need to continue to move in that direction if confirmed. i think it would accelerate the process especially of secure flight and i would love to be more informed and ask questions about the effectiveness of the redress program. >> do you believe the tsa is going to be able to meet the current goal of having secure flight fully implemented are all domestic flights by this time or early 2010 and for all international flights by the end of this year? >> i would like to get back to you on all of the international flights. senator i believe tsa will meet the domestic goal, but i would like to take for the record and get back to you on the

international. >> i also know secretary napolitano has said she has been meeting with other partners internationally about their security and how we can work together on this. will you be involved in and in that as head of tsa, and if confirmed in terms of trying to reach out to the other airports in other countries? >> very good question senator and i expect to be fully participating member of the secretary's team, and pretty sure the international carriers would meet in canada i believe in september and if confirmed i'm pretty sure the secretary would send me to that. >> okay. in the president's budget, he actually upped the number of federal air marshal service personnel and i think what and 85 million for that and has also requested 71 million to fund an additional 275 proprietary explosive detection canine teams

can you elaborate on that plan to use these additional personnel and canine teams to the utmost capacity and how do you think that will work? >> only to the extent that they are part of the layering system that i described earlier. the canine teams are very important to the layers of security that we provide around the airports. as are the air marshals and i applaud the increase in support and resources for the air marshals and the canines. >> in his speech on january 7 the president explained that rather than a failure to collect our share of intelligence, the failure on christmas day was a failure to connect and understand the intelligence that we already had. what steps are you going to take to make this a priority at tsa to better coordinate and streamline data gathering and watch lists and things like we

have already talked about? >> working cooperatively senator with the intelligence office within dhs as well as the intelligence community writ large, being a proactive member of the intelligence community do the department of homeland security's-- will help tsa received more impossibly better actual intelligence. the last point there, as you know senator tsa just recently cleared about gore is moving in the direction of clearing about 10,000 individuals in tsa to receive this intelligence. just getting in to it and holding onto it at the headquarters so i think that is part of that process. >> something else that we talked about. in particular tsa policy that impacts my state. my state i have i consider one of the best airports in the country and it is a hub and a very active airport, and there's

this group are harman to check luggage at appropriately cleared appropriate have to be rescreened before the transfer to a u.s. base connecting flight. this causes delayed connections for passengers arriving from canada since their baggage must be physically transported from the arrival aircraft to a baggage screening facility. rescreened by tsa in retransported to the connecting flight in the know this has all been done for good reasons and obviously it is a balance with security. but it is my understanding that tsa has been working with canadian authorities for well over a year to reach an agreement that would put in place new technologies and processes for canadian baggage screening that will meet u.s. security standards. you have given me our commitment that you will work with me to resolve this issue. do you have any other comments about that? >> i reaffirm my commitment senator. >> that is a very nice short answer, very smart. i just want to thank you or your

work. you have a big job in front of you. i view this as a most important obviously to our security but i also think there there are thino do where we can actually be more efficient and be smarter on our resources at the same time doing a better job for security and i hope you view it that way as well. >> i do. >> thank you. i know that there will be questions that will be allowed for the record in this hearing. some of our colleagues couldn't be here today and want to submit questions and a question for the record is due at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. with that, thank you very much general harding and the hearing is adjourned. >> thank you. [inaudible conversations]

>> now that the president has signed health care legislation, the senate has begun working on on the health care reconciliation bill. the package of amendments approved by the house. here are some of today's senate debate on the bill. we will hear from finance committee chairman max baucus and budget committee ranking member jed gregg. this is 40 minutes. >> madam president, this morning president obama signed into law egg meaningful and serious reform like coverage for people with preexisting conditions. he signed comprehensive health care reform into law.

many of us have dreamed of that day for years. now, it is a fact. now it is law. now it is history. indeed, it is historic. he signed a law that will ensure average people without insurance will get health insurance choices just like members of congress. this morning president obama signed a law that will control the growth of health care costs in years to come. today we have before us a bill to improve the new law. we do not have a whole health care reform bill. we do not have to reopen every argument that we had over the last two years. we do not have to say everything that we said about health care one more time. rather, we have a bill before us , a bill that will do a few good things. we have before us a bill that

will improve affordability by increasing tax credits to help pay for insurance premiums. increase those tax credits. we have before us a bill that will help with out-of-pocket costs were lower and middle income families. we have before us a bill that will increase aid to states to help them shoulder the cost of covering americans under medicaid. we have before us a bill that will give additional help to states that take extra steps to recover the uninsured before a forum took place. together, these improvements will level the playing field among states under health care reform. we have before us a bill that will make sure that no state is singled out for special treatment. we have before us a bill that will completely close the doughnut hole, that is the coverage gap for medicare description-- prescription drug coverage.

close by the end of the budget window. we have before us a bill that will start with a 250-dollar increase in federal assistance toward coverage of the doughnut hole right away, this year, 2010. we have before us a bill that bullfight fraud, fight waste and abuse in medicare and medicaid. that is the bill we have before us today. this is not the whole health care reform bill. this is a set of commonsense improvements to that new law signed by the president earlier today. now i do not expect opponents of the bill to talk about these commonsense improvements. frankly, it is pretty difficult to understand why senators would want to oppose these commonsense improvements. rather, this debate is anything like the debate so far, opponents of this bill will try to change the subject.

when people look at what health reform really does, they are more likely to support it. when they separate truth from diction, separate the wheat from the chaff. i expect opponents of this bill will try to distract observers from what is really going on. rather than talk about commonsense improvements in this bill, opponents will talk about the process. over the two years that we have been working on health care reform, there have been many on the other side who have sought to make the debate about process, not about what is in a bill that improves people's lives but about the process, the legislative process. they have sought to emphasize a messy the legislative process is, and sometimes it is a bit messy and of course criticizing how congress works is a heck of a lot easier than improving health care for the american people.

many opponents of health care reform our access with process and procedure. i am much more focused on the people then health care reform will help. i am focused on people like pat and her late husband's dan from lincoln county in northwest corner of montana. pad and damned used to have a ranch in southwestern county. dan was a fourth generation of his family to run the ranch. he grew up on the ranch and worked very hard every day of his life. in 2000, the doctors told him he had hodgkin's lymphoma. they did not have health insurance. at dan never took a handout and they thought they could handle their bills on their own. that is the way they always lived. it is the way a lot of people i dare say, most people lived. but then the medical bills

started piling up. swallowing his pride dan made what he called the hardest decision of his life. he filed for medicaid. the state told them the only way he could be eligible for medicaid was to put a lien on the ranch. is dan's medical bills piled out of control pad and dan were forced to sell. pat said the cancer ravaged her husband's body. but selling their ranch to pay for medical costs broke his spirit. that is why we needed to enact health care reform. most bankruptcies in america as they are related to the medical cost. just think about that, most bankruptcies today are related to medical costs. no one in america should have to sell everything they have. no one should have to go bankrupt just to pay medical bills. i am not going to let the opponents charge about the

process. the idea health care reform has been some sort of rusts job is a total myth, a myth that deserves busting. the facts are that the inez committee and the help committee each went through a full and transparent process to consider health care reform legislation. by that i mean fully open to the public at all points. this has been the fullest and most transparent process for any major piece of legislation in memory. i might say madam president, a journalist once approached me a year ago and said senator, are you starting a new trend here with such openness and such trends be, putting your amendments on the web? is that a whole new approach the senate is going to pursue from now on? i said i didn't know but from the start i wanted to develop a

bipartisan consensus package. after all when somebody gets hiller gets cancer, it is a person. we have got to work together because that is what the american public wants and that is what i have tried so hard to do. i wanted a bill that would have broad political support across the political spectrum. there has been a long tradition in the republican party to favor comprehensive health care reform that tradition stretches back to theodore roosevelt. to richard nixon, to bob dole and teach john chaffee. i believe that what we set out to do and what we have done fits comfortably within the tradition of what republican leaders sought to do. we began almost two years ago on may 6, 2008, we held our first hearing in our series on health care reform. in fact the finance committee held 11 series in 2008 alone.

we help those hearings to help senators come to a commonsense understanding of the health care crisis. help explain why we are in such a crisis, what needs to be done, how the various parts of our health care system work and how various parts don't work or go i held this hearing purely from an educational point of view not an ideological point of view, to educate all of those on the committee getting us ready for 2009 a year in which it was clear to me that this congress was g impasse health care reform. we sought in the middle of the last congress to lay the groundwork for passing the bill in this congress. on june 16, 2008 senator grassley and died, my good friend and ranking member of the committee convened a bipartisan health reform summit in the library of congress. we called it, prepare for launch, health care reform summit of 2008. chairman ben bernanke was there.

other notables were there. a full day conference, members of the finance committee both sides of aisle to help us better understand how to resolve our health care reform crisis and i was very impressed with day long, virtually most of the senator stayed until the late afternoon. i counted both sides and they were still there asking questions of experts. senator grassley and i'd brought some of the best minds in the country together to discuss health care reform. senators from both sides of the aisle engage in open and constructive discussion. then, right after 2008 election, on november 12, 2008 this senator released in 89 page blueprint for health care reform i have it right here. we named it call to action. health reform 2000 mind. it was a comprehensive framework for health care reform. we posted that blueprint on the internet for all to read.

the ideas in that white paper reflected a broad consensus of thinking among health care experts. we searched far and wide. what is the best thinking? with two other countries do? while looking at what other countries did we wanted to come up with a new uniquely american system. we are not-- we are american and we spent 2.5 trillion dollars a year bite evenly divided public and private. the public is medicaid, medicare and children's health insurance program and the private is commercial health insurance. i want to maintain that same balance with uniquely american solution. the ideas of that white paper remained the foundations of health care reform that became law this morning. now that is a strong statement to make that it is true. almost all the ideas, that all committees, both sides of the congress have enacted and are in

a bill that the president signed today. now of course there are changes here and there but the basic foundation on that white paper, this paper right here was put together in november 2008, remained the foundations of health care reform that became law this morning. the ideas behind her health care reform legislation have been available for all senators and the public to consider for more than 16 months. "the washington post" called our white paper and i cults, striking in both its timing and scope. "the washington post" said quote, rarely if ever has a lawmaker move so early, eight days after the election of the new president to press for such an enormous undertaking," matt. in april and may of last year senator grassley and i release three bipartisan health care reform papers on the three major areas of reform. what are they? first delivery system reform,

second insurance coverage and third options for financing. once again, we made these papers public and posted them on the web committee. senator grassley and i convened three open televised bipartisan roundtable discussions with experts on the subjects. we held several daylong meetings of finance committee senators to discuss the topics of those policy papers. on april 30, 2000 mind the "new york times" reported culp in setting forth detailed policy options and abiding public comment mr. baucus, mr. grassley said a precedent for openness. on may 18, 2009, the newspaper politico reported, quote frequent progress reports include discussion of keeping peace in a delicate alliance, republicans or democrats,

industry labor positions and consumer advocates and madam president that is so true. from the onset, we worked hard to keep all the groups. that was a shortcoming back in the early '90s when health care reform fall apart, where the troops-- by the groups i mean consumer groups. hospitals, labor, medical device manufacturers, nursing homes. all the groups, i called their ceos and kept talking to them constantly. what do you think? stay at the table. don't walk away from the table. suspend judgment if only for five minutes. let's figure out a way to put this together for everybody's best interest in the americas best interest to get this pass. i had more than 142 meetings, 142 both one-on-one and in groups to discuss health care reformer senators on both sides of the aisle. in all those meetings added up to more than 150 hours of discussions.

i try to work out a bipartisan package in the finance committee. started as i always do, but the ranking republican member of the finance committee of my good friend, chuck grassley. since the finance committee and the health committee shared jurisdiction over health care senator grassley and i agreed we wanted to include the ranking republican member of the health committee, mike enzi and our colleague jeff denham and was also a member of both committees. as well we reached out to the chairman of the budget committee, senator kent conrad and ranking republican member of the small business community senator olympia snowe mac. both senators conrad and snowe had a long history of working across the aisle to reach consensus. we also reached out to senator kennedy. had meetings with him. all the relevant ranking members together met with senator kennedy and how gracious he was

and how much he wanted to work together. he wasn't trying to do this for ted kennedy. it was for people who needed health care. it was very touching. it ended up we had six groups of senators, three democrats and three republicans. we worked hard to forge a consensus. we rolled up our sleeves and plow through the issues and met 31 times for 63 hours over the course of four months. many have said we met too long. many have said i should have broken off my discussions with my colleagues. but i wanted to go the extra mile. i wanted to try it. wanted to bend over backwards. i wanted to do everything i could to reach a bipartisan consensus. why? because that is the right thing to do. that group of six senators came very close to an agreement. we did not end up or reach an agreement among all six of us but i took the product of those bipartisan discussions, are

areas of the tentative agreement and made them the starting point for our committee markup. that is the group of six helped forge immense intensity and discussions, major improvements on our thinking. we converted that product into a committee markup and i made that public and posted it on line at the web site september 162009. that was a full six days before the markup and four days longer the committee rules require. for the first time in history on the september 19 the finance committee posted on line every amend and submitted to the clerk reports of the full test of all 564 amendments. members of the committee and the public had three days to review the amendments and prepare for markup. are finance committee markup stretched over eight days, fully public, well past 10:00 p.m. on

most of those days. the markup as long as the finance committee has conducted on any bill in 22 years. prior to the markup i accepted 122 amendments as part of our modified chairman's markup. 26 of those amendments incorporated into the market came from republican colleagues. during the markup the committee considered 135 amendments. the committee accepted 41 amendments and rejected 55. on october second, 2000 nine, a full 11 days prior to the committee vote on the bill i've posted on line the mark as amended. and on october 132000 mind the finance bill reported that bob partisan vote of 14-9. the majority leader then held the finance committee and the health committee into a single bill. the majority leader move to proceed to the bill on november 19 of last year.

we had a full and open debate of the bill on the senate floor and on december 24 of last year, christmas eve more than a month later, the senate finally passed health care reform. now i have taken some time to detail the long legislative history of this effort and i did so because i believe that any fair observer of this legislative history would draw three conclusions. one, we tried mightily to work with our republican colleagues to reach a broad consensus bill. we went the extra mile. we bent over backwards and for a variety of reasons our republican colleagues simply did not want to be part in the end of this effort. two, nobody rushed to this bill. this has been a full and deliberative process, about two years. there is no way that health care reform was quote rammed through the congress.

no way, just not true. three we have conducted a process more open than that of for any major piece of legislation in the modern senate but opponents of the bill have tried to raise as many charges as they can. they have tried to throw as much mud at this effort as they can, hoping that something sticks. their latest attack has been to criticize the use of the budget reconciliation process for the bill before us today. some have charged that using reconciliation is somehow unusual. they argue that using budget reconciliation for health care is somehow unheard-of. and they argue that we never use reconciliation for major matters nothing there to could be further from the truth. is reconciliation unusual? the answer is clearly, no.

budget reconciliation is a pretty common process. since congress began using the budget reconciliation process in 1980, some 30 years ago, congress has passed some 23 reconciliation bills, 23 in the last 30 years. most years have seen reconciliation bills ergo it is exceptional in this congress when it does not pass a reconciliation bill. what about health care? is health care something unusual for reconciliation? once again, the answer is no. nonpartisan congressional research did a service-- survey of bill submitted through com to the present status. of those 22 reconciliation bills, crs identified 12 of them with titles or other major legislative components pertaining to medicare or medicaid programs.

in other words, most reconciliation bills have addressed health care. once again, it is the exceptional case where reconciliation bill does not contain health care matters what about major health care legislation? major health care legislation in reconciliation unusual? once again, the answer is no. crs counted the number of pages in the law books on health care that the reconciliation process has put their and it was not a small number. crs found that bills enacted using the reconciliation process contributed some 1366 pages on health care to the statutes at large. crs found that the average reconciliation bill with health care and it contributed some 124 pages to the statutes at large. pages of statute have more words than bills do mr. president so these pages reflect far more pages than the bill text.

let's consider some of the major changes to health care that congress has enacted in the last 30 years. well, there is cobra. a health insurance program for people who lose their jobs. congress enacted the cobra health insurance program as part of a reconciliation bill. cobra stands for the consolidated omnibus budget reconciliation act, reconciliation. the republican-controlled senate passed cobra health insurance program as part of reconciliation in 1986. since then, three later reconciliation bills amended the continuation coverage rules. congress changed cobra and reconciliation bills in years 1989, 1990 and again in 1993. another one of the largest health care expansions congress enacted in the last 30 years was the children's health insurance program, otherwise known as

chip. once again, we enacted it, you got it right, in reconciliation. congress enacted ship as part of a balanced budget act of 1997. once again, it was a republican-controlled senate that passed the children's health insurance program as part of reconciliation in 1997. then there is the medicare advantage program. medicare advantage or medicare plus choice as they called that then was a major change in medicare. it introduced private insurance companies into the system and once again republican-controlled senate passed that reconciliation in 1997. so it is hard to think of a major health insurance expansion that does not involve reconciliation. sure, there were some but it is the exceptional case where congress enacts major changes to health care outside of reconciliation. when you think about it, that

makes more sense. congress created the budget reconciliation process to affect the budget four any competent budget economist will tell you that health care costs growth is the biggest financial challenge facing our nation. the president and other commentators in our fiscal plight make that statement repeatedly. if you want to address the budget in a significant way, you need to address health care. health care is exactly the sort of thing that the budget process was designed to address. why did congress create the budget process this way? simple. congress gated the budget process so that congress could make fiscal policy with a simple majority vote. the congress that created a reconciliation wanted to ensure that future congresses good boat budget matters up or down. yes or no.

now, is it unusual for anything this large to have been passed in reconciliation? once again the answer is no. in terms of dollars and cents, the biggest reconciliation bill by far is a 2001 bush tax cut. in 2001 reconciliation bill worsened the deficit by more than $550 billion over the first five years. that was the reconciliation bill. not far behind was the 2003 bush tax cut four that reconciliation bill worsened the deficit by more than $430 billion over the first five years. in terms of policy changes, it is hard to match the two bush tax cuts. but another measure that came close was in 1996 welfare reform bill. once again that was a reconciliation bill. the 1996 welfare reform bill was the most sweeping revision of poverty program since the great society.

once again, that reconciliation bill was passed by republican-controlled senate. it is hard to say that we have not done big things in reconciliation. in sum, it is not as though we snuck health care reform through the senate. we pass it with an exhaustive open process and the senate passed health care reform because-- with a supermajority. we pass it was 60 votes. now, all that remains to be done to complete health care reform is an up-or-down vote on this final bill. this last step in health care reform deserves a simple majority vote. that is all that needs to be done to finish the job of reforming health care reform. and then let me return to what this bill will do. this bill would help to make health care more affordable for people who don't have it. and improve upon the senate bill , that the president signed

this morning. we do it for people like carmen and her daughter marilee from polson, montana. carmen had insurance, but she still had problems with coverage and costs. before march 2000 a carmen had insurance with a 5000-dollar deductible. she found her self avoiding care because of the high deduct bowl. she and her daughter marilee waited until they knew that they needed help before they went to a doctor. certainly with a deductible that high, 5000 bucks. at one point carmen's daughter contracted a urinary tract infection. wanting to avoid the high deductible carmen and her daughter decided to wait a day to see how it would go but her daughter did not get better. she needed to get care. since it was saturday, there was no urgent care open for 50 miles. the only option was to go to the emergency room. the hospital billed carmen $500.

her insurance company refused to pay it four carman appealed, asking them to pay the $70 insurance normally paid for urgent care and carmen would pay the remaining balance that the insurance company still denied her claim. when carmen broke her finger, her insurance company refused to pay for treatment. the insurance company paid only for x-rays even though carmen was entitled to $650 in coverage for accident. carmen paid for her own treatment. but she gave up on the therapy because it cost too much. carmen's fingers will never fully healed. in march 2008, carmen switch to another insurance company and lowered her deductible to $2500. remember, the last policies deductible was 5000. the last month berman received notice her premiums would go up by 32%.

carmen will have to keep her premiums down by spacing her coverage. it is a strategy she has been using for years. we fight for health care are people like carmen and marilee. we fight for health care for people like william and eric in montana. aaron lost her father william when he was only 59 years old because her insurance company denied his bone bone marrow transplant until it was too late william taught school for more than 30 years. he thought he had good insurance through his retirement package. the doctors told william he had leukemia but doctors were able to treated with oral kumar there be for a long time. in 2002 the doctors determine william would need advance chemotherapy. then the doctors determined that he would need a bone marrow transplant. their insurance company pay for

all of the preparations, testing and treatment leading to the transplant. at the insurance company denied the procedure itself. mr. president i note that i have run over my half hour here. let me just say that i asked to include here by noting that this is why we fight for people. this is why this health care bill was here before us, because people like carmen, merrily, pat and many people across this country deserve much better. we are at the very end and about ready to pass this legislation. the president signed the bill this morning. this will just make it a little bit better. it is a normal, open process and i urge all of my colleagues to quickly pass this so we can help a lot of people and get onto other matters. i thank the chair. >> mr. president? >> the senator from new hampshire. >> i wish i could sit here and agree with the senator from an

tenet. i wish as i looked in these bills that just passed the house and now we are getting the trailer bill that was used to purchase the boats in the house to pass the big bill that i could say america's children are going to be better off. that the people who have health care issues in this country are going to be better off but that is impossible to say. why is it impossible to say? because this bill as it passed the house was an atrocity. it was an explosion of government the likes of which we have never seen in this country before. it grows the government by $2.6 trillion. and in the process, it will interfere with almost every american who has private health insurance and how they get their insurance. and it will take americans who have health insurance today and push them out of that health insurance as a small employers across this country decide they can no longer afford it. and it will save medicare recipients, we are going to cut your medicare by a trillion

dollars when this is fully implemented, a trillion dollars. and we are going to take out money and we are going to use it to fund a brand-new entitlement over here for people who aren't on medicare, who aren't seniors and we are going to use it to expand other entitlements are people who aren't on medicare and who aren't seniors. and then to medicare recipients who have seen their program reduced by a trillion dollars are going to be left with a program that remains on a path to insolvency. a path which will inevitably lead to lesser quality of care for people who get medicare because providers will find themselves forced out of the system. and people who are on medicare advantage will virtually find that that insurance plan is eliminated. so this bill has a lot of major problems. the big bill that passed the house. now we get this trailer bill,

this buy it bill which was used for the purposes of getting votes from the house and this bill aggravates the fundamental problems of the baker bill that the president signed today. this bill adds more cost, creates more taxes, and will reduce medicare viability in a more significant way, and yet it is called good policy? very hard to understand that. when you look at these bills as a combination, especially when you put it into the context thrown on this train was the nationalization of student loans program, where 19 million students today are going to be forced into the process of getting their loans for the federal government instead of through their community banks, and when you look at this in that context, what this bill is really about, and the president

has been very forthright about this, is a massive explosion and the size of government. growing the government for one fundamental purpose because this administration believes a bigger government creates prosperity. but we don't believe that on our side of the aisle. we believe that there is a lot of good things that could've been done to make health care better. i have offered a proposal to do that. other senators, senator barrasso has a proposal to do that. they would have addressed the health insurance issues of making sure that everybody could get coverage if you have a preexisting condition, all of the straw dogs that are being thrown up for the reason why this bill had to be pass. they would have all been taken care of if a more reasonable and have been pass. there wouldn't have been this massive explosion in the size of the federal government which will inevitably pass on to our children, government they cannot afford. under this bill, the cost of the federal government which is

traditionally been about 20% of our gross national product, will jump up around 25, 26 or 27% of gross national product. it will be unaffordable as a result of that. but they claim they paid for it in the way they claim they paid for it primarily is to cut medicare by a trillion dollars by fully implementing it. this seems fundamentally unfair to the people on our side of the aisle. we all recognize medicare has serious problems. it has got a 36 trillion-dollar unfunded liability. we all recognize that medicare recipients depend on that program, and so if we are going to adjust medicare payments, cut them as they do in this bill, eliminate programs like medicare advantage for all intensive purposes, then those savings, as

a matter of fairness, should stay with the medicare system. i mean that is what it is should have been. those savings which are huge in this bill and i respect the fact that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle stepped up and made this massive attempt to cut medicare. that was quite a decision on their part, but what they did was they took the savings which should have gone to giving senior citizens a stronger and more vibrant program and they took them and they started brand-new programs, brand-new entitlement and expansions of other existing entitlements, and none of which have anything to do with medicare or senior citizens. so essentially they are funding this program in large part on the backs of the seniors of this country, without doing anything substantive which will in the long run make medicare more solvent. and in fact, they basically doubled down the problem because we know medicare has headed into insolvency and then they created

new entitlements. we always underfund them. the promises are made that they are never kept. and so this will all end up rolling into a giant ball, like a huge massive asteroid headed to earth, which is basically going to land on our children's heads as debt. that is where we are headed towards here. we already know we have a government we can afford. the dead of this country is going to double in the next five years under the president budget and triple under the next 10 years or good is going to get to a level of unsustainability within five to seven years. where are we seeing the warning signs. the chinese are telling us they may not want to buy or debt or committee says we may have to have our ratings look at. even warren buffett's debt today , this week for the first time sold at a better premium than the united states.

what does that mean? people have more confidence that warren buffett will pay back in the united states. that is it pretty serious sign. yet what this bill does at its core on fiscal policy is to radically expand the size of government and we all know it won't be paid for, so we all know it will significantly, probably radically expand the debt our children are going to bear. we are inevitably not going to pass on to her children a healthier country physic-- fiscally. we are going to pass on to her children a sicker country fiscally. are we going to get better for it? i think i seriously doubt it. .. essentially amount to quite eye nationalization of different areas of our economy, you end up with less quality. it's unhairnt in havin un-- inhe

government run thing. so the first amendment we're going to offer here today is to try to straighten out this incredible inequity that we should paying on for these new -- that we would be paying for these new entitlements, these uninsured americans and for people on medicare, with senior citizens' dollars by cutting the medicare program by over a trillion dollars when fully implemented. and so we have an amendment which says essentially this: you cannot reduce the medicare spending if c.b.o. cannot tell us that the other expenditures in this bill are paid for with something other than medicare. it is a hard-and-fast commitment it is a hard-and-fast commitment but it is a hard and fast commitment than medicare savings will go to benefit medicare. and that should be our purpose.

the american israel public

affairs committee just wrapped up its annual conference in washington. here are the speakers from today's event. we will hear from senator jim risch of idaho, former british prime minister tony blair and is really much doctor who recently returned from a relief mission in haiti. this lasts one hour and 15 minutes. >> ladies and gentlemen please welcome aipac national board member, steven rosenthal. [applause] >> what connects you to cure, and france? a background, schools, all dogs, church, neighborhood you are associated with, the work that you do, the organizations that you support, the volunteer activities or hobbies that you are drawn to? what if it is none of these? when an orthodox jew this wall

street veteran from new york first met jim risch, lieutenant governor from boise idaho, neither of them had a way of knowing how much or how little they held in common. over time they discovered links far deeper than common hobbies or zip code. they share a world view. they shared an understanding that policies and politics evolved. but friendships abide. relationships matter. ♪ as a member of aipac's national board of directors, it's part of my job to make sure that aipac activists are reaching out to

every single candidate for office. so, when my board colleagues asked who was interested in getting to know the senate candidate from idaho my hand and up immediately. i had never been involved in an open seat senate race before and i have to admit my connection to idaho in did of looking potatoes but everything i heard about than lt. governor jim risch intrigued me. it means the arranger with a strong family, a long record of service and state government and a deep interest in the world beyond the state borders. the first meeting in long breakfast in new york with jim and vicki confirmed my initial instincts. we talked about israel, his race

for the senate, idaho politics but we also spoke about the dangers of the world today. he spoke right then and there about how a strong u.s. israel friendship was essential for the security of all americans and he said he knew that life everywhere, including idaho, would become more dangerous forever if iran secured nuclear weapons i knew i was speaking with someone whose views and concerns were a lot like my own. >> i still have a lot to learn about foreign policy. in my 40 years in idaho state politics, my focus has been on issues like commodity prices, energy policy, land use, property taxes, which are the priorities for folks in quarterly and and and when falls just to name a few of the great towns in my home state of idaho.

i asked him to send me any articles he felt would help focus my knowledge about israel on the issues. >> i did send a whole bunch of articles, and then i encouraged him to begin putting together a position paper on the u.s. israeli friendship. perhaps some of you in the audience share my approach to computers. and i'm not a big e-mail donner. nothing against it. i just like to light in my own hand especially when i'm drafting something for the very first time. so again the facts of life position paper with a bunch of handwritten notes and questions in the margin. i know it is very old school and it took a good bit of his time and attention as the weeks changed ideas and heavenly marked up draft. >> despite your e-mail phobia, i thought it was a terrific exercise which allowed us to

have an in-depth exchange, and i really appreciated your attention to detail. ladies and gentlemen, it is extremely rare for a senate candidate with all of the demands upon them to take the time to put together a paper like this personally and with great interest and careful consideration. [applause] this was not a task that was obligated to a staffer to read jim didn't ask me to put together some faults or a draft. this was an important process to him personally. why? because as i found out them and what it will come out to find since, jim risch cares deeply about israeli security and future. [applause]

to our friendship continued to default and jam and vicki visited our home in scarsdale new york. now, when jim, who is a rancher, heard how proud to leave my wife spoke about her backyard vegetable garden, she insisted on seeing it. being the dementia that he is, the decent person that he is he didn't tell us at the time that their backyard vegetable garden stretched as far as the eye could see. after his victory in november, 2008, senter e let preference for committee assignments again reiterated a strong passion he has for the u.s. is israel friendship. he was granted seats on both the foreign relations committee and the intelligence committee. in fact, he was immediately named the ranking member on the middle east subcommittee of

foreign relations as a brand-new freshman senator hearing [applause] to be honest, running for the senate isn't something i had longed for or wanted to initially provide almost every state office through governor in idaho and i loved my life dickies another by my kids and grandkids but when friends and family convinced me to take this on i made a promise to them, to the idaho citizens and to myself that if i won i wanted my time in washington to matter to make a for real and meaningful difference. [applause] >> two months after joining the senate i had my first opportunity to visit israel as part of the senate delegation. fortunately, the of the family arrived in israel for passover

while i was there. i came directly from the meeting with prime minister netanyahu to have coffee at the hotel in jerusalem. it was a wonderful opportunity for dtca at me to share of first impressions of israel with very. for me, one question lingered. i have seen the steps israel had taken to make peace with their neighbors over many years. but what about the arab states? what did they sacrifice? what were they willing to do in the name of peace with israel? >> when we got back from the trip to israel, senator jim risch along with his mccaul week, evan bayh offered a letter to president obama urging him to ask the arab states to once and for all demonstrate an interest for peace and make some kind of reaching israel.

thanks to senators jim risch and evan bayh, that letter secured 72 signatures in just ten days. [applause] unfortunately, what we heard back from the arab world, however, illustrated their rejection of israel one more time, silence. and more silence. [laughter] senator, in tough times, and even when it is easy sailing whether it is between countries or individuals, it is friendships like the one i am so proud to have with you that sustain us and helpless make us who we are.

[applause] >> i will always be grateful to bury for reaching out to me for helping me to gain a deeper and a better understanding of the issues that i care about and for helping me see the important facets of the u.s. is really alliance. my friends, it's true relationships matter. thank you very much. [applause] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome aipac national board member michael. [applause] stomach it was a sweltering hot and humid day more than 90 degrees as it usually did on the days like that, emanuel decided to take a shower to cool

off. but this time it was different. as the 21-year-old student stood in the shower under the cold beating water the ground began to shake pt ran into his bedroom. he was disoriented, emanuel heuvel. everything around him, the ceiling, the walls, the furniture fell on top of him. emanu-el lead trapped under the rubble disoriented, desperate for food and water. on sure whether he was really alive or dead, day turned to night and again and again and again. ten days he would lie there delirious no food, no water, no help and then something miraculous happened. lying beneath the debris of what used to be his house in port-au-prince, he heard a

voice, and accent. someone was calling his name. emanu-el, emanuel. the rebel above him was being moved. he saw an arm. the man wearing a uniform on that uniform the star of david. [applause] and israeli search and rescue team lifted emanu-el from the rubble. transported him to the only place of the time equipped to treat his extensive injuries. the israel field hospital. [applause] built within hours of the quake in an empty field in the haitian capital, the israelis constructed what one american news network called the rolls rice of emergency medicine.

for emanuel, it was another miracle. to operating rooms, an emergency room, a children's ward, a maternity ward, intensive care unit, radiology department, surgical department, internal medicine department, even a pharmacy. emanuel was just one of haitians to receive state of tiahrt medical treatment. they were some of the lucky ones. but like emanuel, many haitians wondered who are these people who care so much trouble so far for us? we don't know them, but they seem to know less. 236 physicians, nurses and rescue personnel with the israel defense forces dropped everything went news of the tragedy in haiti first broke. colonel barn surgeon general of the idf home front command was one of those individuals.

she had been part of the previous israel of disaster relief missions and india and turkey. the haiti mission was much different. with barely an hour's notice, colonel barr traveled some 6,000 miles to a country he barely knew. a country with no israeli embassy, no shared history and no real jewish connection. but he went with no idea of where the plane would land. no idea where they would set up a hospital and no idea of what was in store. all colonel barr who was that israel had the know-how, the head of the equipment and there were people by eating who desperately needed israel's help triet for more than two weeks, colonel barr and his colleagues worked tirelessly of the clocks doing their small part for humanity. babies were born, children were

given a new lease on life and families were reunited. when asked by a news reporter in haiti while israel does what it does, colonel barr responded when we save the life of one person, we feel that we have saved the world. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the man who along with his israeli medical team saved the world several times over, colonel ariel barr triet [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, good morning. wednesday, january 13th wasn't a regular day. i was commanding an extensive biological trill in tel aviv when my cellphone running. from the other end of the line a lieutenant colonel from the home front, and spoke. a severe earthquake occurred in haiti. we are sending a rescue team. you have one and a half hours to be at the airport. this is how i was notified regarding the earthquake. i mumbled something over the phone to my 6-year-old daughter trying to explain to her why daddy disappeared. i packed a small bag, and like a good soldier, an hour-and-a-half later on was on the plan. we left, not knowing what to

expect. the israeli plans to offer israel without even receiving approval to land. and the forces didn't know if there would be room to set up a hospital. just as we didn't know the extent of logistics available. top commanders from the israeli army or the backbone of this deployment which included the home front command, the medical corps, the air force all of which united who was one goal, saving lives and easing the situation for the people of haiti. [applause] i believe that we did it very successfully. we were the first to arrive from the global community and built the state of the hour hospital.

[applause] perhaps one of the best few hospitals ever constructed despite the poor physical conditions and despite them on air-conditioned tents. as a result of the great spirit and team work we were able to perform hundreds of operations, saved many vital organs, delivered babies and provide care for premature newborns. but the question that remains is why. what contributed to the considerable effort of the israeli army and soldiers? what motivated the country so far from haiti to cross oceans in order to set of these grand operations? the answer is quite complex. we do everything we can to save

lives and help each and every human being. this is the answer -- [applause] this is the answer. it may sound as a symbol clich maybe even cynical since after all, behind every action there's always an interest or some benefits. but if interest was the main purpose, then how could we explain why an officer donated his plot to save the life of a three day old infant? why doctors and nurses worked around the clock until near collapse, why every patient got a personal medical treatment even though this was a large scale catastrophe, why who believe in voodoo were taken care of by religious jews with

complete respect and dignity that each individual deserves? why in the time of shortage we improvised crucial parts in a local workshop orthopedic pen switch saved lives, why we formed an ethics committee that discussed and documented in writing each complex case and why after a week of searching and digging in the rubble we overjoyed that we successfully rescued one who trapped person still alive on the eighth day. [applause] one more person among the survivors. well, ladies and gentlemen, all of these deeds cannot be explained by mere interest to read each of them flow deeply

within the foundation of the idf and is in did it in its core values, the value of the importance of man as well as respect for one another. ever since i was drafted i was taught to save lives regardless of borders, and that human life -- [applause] and that human life and respect for one another our top values. these values are so essentials that in the idf all soldiers have the right to refuse an order they know is a moral and could harm another person. [applause] more so, if you sometimes have to risk your own home life to protect the lives of innocent

people. throughout the years the idf sent soldiers are from the world in times of need. this includes turkey, armenia, kenya, mexico, rwanda and many other countries. some which have relations with israel and others don't. politics and economy are irrelevant. such is the case of haiti. the idf always a ride sufferers to and always leaps into the unknown in order to save as many lives as possible and ease the pain. in the past, on a myself participated in aid to india as well as a rescue mission to kenya. just as before, i was surrounded with wonderful people from the idf medical corps soldiers were dedicated and determined to save lives.

i have a small accent. -- accident. [laughter] we never asked questions. we never asked what interests are or how much will it cost. we never hesitate and we take over the mission with a full sense of purpose, and in the and we gained something priceless. the look in a child's eyes whose life we saved. the gratitude of the mother who's studying child was rescued and the understanding that the idf in haiti or any other place in the world is an island of hope in the sea of despair. ladies and gentlemen, all right, dr. colonel ariel bar, stand before you today as the proud officer of an army that is moral

beyond belief. [applause] ♪ [applause] an army that is beyond belief and that loves each and every individual human being to the full extent. before i go off the stage i would like to say i spent the last three days with you and i think you are wonderful people. you support the idf in israel enormously. thank you, aipac. [applause] ♪

♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen please welcome former aipac president, howard friedman. ♪ >> good morning. i would like to remind everybody, all my great friends out there, that next year we will see you again. aipac behalf conference is a 27 to may 24th. be sure that you and your friends and your family and the friends that you have not yet made are here in the nation's

capital for the important work that we all care so deeply about. there is still time to register at the special discount rate. be sure to visit the quick stop right outside by 3 p.m., the little kiosks, and sign up today. it is now my pleasure to introduce a woman to has been to many conference policies with me and has worked closely with aipac's leaders for several years. life is's most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others. that was the question posed by the reverend dr. martin luther king jr.. perhaps the more applicable question for the next speaker would be what are you not doing for others. reverend dee dee coleman is a pillar of detroit's

african-american community. be on her role as pastor of the russell st missionary baptist church, she has taken on the most pressing challenges affecting her neighbors whether it is counseling, use of vendors or helping single mothers, she is a force for good in detroit's north end. needless to say, a tiny country in the middle east was not on their radar much of her life, so how did she become engaged in an issue like israel? the answer is simple. it was natural to her. pastor coleman's faith taught her to love israel but she had never seen the jewish state with her own eyes. that all changed of course when she traveled to israel on a trip sponsored by aipac's charitable

foundation. the trip completely changed her life. she returned home a different person. on that journey, pastor coleman was exposed to the complex reality of israel's story. yes, she saw firsthand how vulnerable the state is from a security perspective. but she also witnessed the diversity of culture and she was deeply moved by how do ethiopian immigrants were welcomed into society. she felt a real connection with the israeli people, and understood how badly they want peace. like those she helps every single day in detroit, pastore coleman embraced the people of israel. once home in michigan she began telling israel's stories to her friends, to her communities and groups around the country.

really anybody who would listen she told them all about israel. now she's one of the most particular supporters of israel in the united states. [applause] now she comes to washington regularly to lobby hurt elected officials to be strong supporters of the u.s.-israeli alliance, and now she sits with me on aipac's national council. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in getting a warm welcome to the reverend dee dee coleman. [applause] ♪ ♪

>> good morning. i want to congratulate and thank david victor lee rosenberg and howard on a wonderful conference and for giving me this opportunity to share a moment of grace. i am humbled to stand before this policy conference in support of peace and israel. i stand today with a charge to encourage not only the african-american community but all communities of faith to join together to support our jewish brothers since and sisters here at home and in israel to let you know that you are not alone. [applause] all i am here as a friend of israel. i serve on the national council of aipac and find it to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. it has deepened my face, renewed

my strength and humanity and has allowed me to show that this pro-israel movement that i serve in goes way beyond the jewish community. on i am an african-american baptist female preacher, whose origin comes from a deep-rooted spiritual truth and face that israel is the holy land of this world and its people are the children of god. [applause] that's what i believe. that's what i know, and that's what i preach. from birth i was taught that god has a special blessing for those of us that protect and pray for israel. my journey has not wavered nor has it diminished in any way. if anything since i have joined aipac i am more committed to the

journey of work and peace. i grew up reading bible stories of a great holy land filled with believe in israel and its stems from being taught the history to the word of god about the courage of people, the people who are dedication and stride to the jewish traditions and with the no. the jewish people who have stood steadfast in their face who have honored the family traditions and have carried the culture through the decades remembering that they are a people who are givers of peace. i was overwhelmed in 2008 when i experienced my first trip to israel with the aipac foundation. it was then that i realized that the quest for peace and the need for security is not negotiable.

everything i've read about israel, the reality of seeing the world on the paper etched in my heart as it became a life. my travels to israel have renewed william flying over a small strip of land corner by the mediterranean sea. my feet touched the ground, the holy ground from televisa to the violence to the old city of the st. jerusalem, the capitol of israel. [applause] >> putting my feet in the seat of galilee crying at the jordan river took me back in the mountains we print and every step we took it unfolded and awakening my spirit. the educated might be the system to put away myths and all

lifestyles and learn about a country filled with people who are rich in spirit and all day long for his peace. [applause] my experience in israel was highlighted when we went to an ethiopian village and was then that i saw for the first time black jews, people who look like me. i know that my questions were deep as i struggled to understand what and why were they doing in israel and then the story was told because they declared who they were and who is the work. they were airlifted by country that love them because their homeland was where they belong to and needed to be. they had come home. and then we visited the town of

sure donner and from there i could look into the gaza strip. it was then i heard the story of people who every day of their lives they wondered whether or not they would get up in the morning. what i saw and heard touched my heart. mother's telling experiences of bringing their children to school, praying that this will not be their last day. no one should have to endure such pain. [applause] there were questions and more questions. there were many governmental agencies where our group had the freedom to ask any question we so desired. they said to me referenda dee dee, give us an opportunity to show use of land and told you of our story. then you make up your own mind what you think is the right

thing to do. today my involvement at aipac has gone beyond the words i read in the bible now more than ever lived by fulfilling a commitment in the work for peace and security for israel and all of its israel neighbors. i encourage those of faith and anyone who will listen but so goes the peace in israel so goes the peace in the world. [applause] many luncheons are prepared by other leaders of faith in the african-american community to spread the news that israel and its people need our help and our voice. more trips are planned to bring others to see and believe for themselves that peace and security for israel on

non-negotiable. it is a necessity and urgency and obligation of trust. it's stipulation and need that israel must be secure and some things are not negotiable. jerusalem, the capitol of israel, non-negotiable. [applause] [cheering] iran must be stopped. non-negotiable. [applause] israel must have the right to defend itself. mom negotiable. [applause] the united states must protect

support and praise for our commitment to israel and its people. we must continue to build a strong bipartisan consensus that has been a part of america's history with israel to assure that the threats to israel shall never come to pass. israel's need for peace and security is not a party issue. it isn't an issue of whose side you are on but they on the issue of the right thing to do. [applause] together our job is to ensure domestic political support in the united states for a secure and peaceful israel. s president park barack obama said from this very podium, and i quote, those who threaten israel threat knous. israel has always threatened these on the front lines and i

will bring to the white house unshakeable commitment to israeli security. as a proud member of the pro-israel community it is my privilege and duty to work with our president and congress to ensure the fatality of the jewish state. we must enhance american israel defense cooperation and ensure that israel has the ability to defend itself always and iran must not make nuclear weapons for america's sake and the wiltz seat. [applause] -- world's sake. [applause] it is incumbent upon us, each of us, to work with an

administration committed to these goals to ensure that no weapon threaten the existence of our ally, israel. also believe and know in my heart that the bond between israel and the united states is well planted based on our shared values and faith. it is a relationship that cannot be shaken by a sudden gust of wind. we are too strong for that. we are too deep for that. we are too powerful for that. we are to laughing for that. it is a relationship. [applause] [cheering] it is a relationship that cannot be shaken. those of us from the african-american community who are here today have come to stand with israel and to work with aipac to strengthen the

alliance that tie israel together. [applause] we have come because we understand that while israel needs america it is america also needs israel. [applause] we are on a journey to get their and nothing should shake us from that purpose. don't get it twisted, don't get confused or perplexed, don't allow wind to cloud your judgment. at the end of the day, iran must not make nuclear weapons. [applause] [cheering] while i know the importance of our political work and that we

are blessed in this land of america to have the freedom to act on our beliefs i am thankful that my sisters and brothers of aipac don't ever forget that there is a god factor we cannot overlook. the galt who stood in the eternity and declared but there be and it was. there is a bader passats ha and looks down low. there is a god who has never failed his people. the got that to cue from the crips and crossed you over into the promised land. the same in god was a cloud of bye day and fire by night and provided matter from heaven and parted the red sea. but god who set a high of the lord your god brought you out of the land of egypt i don't believe that god has brought

israel and the united states this far to leave us behind. god has a purpose for us. [applause] each of office are destined to the seats where we are sitting today in the very place. you didn't reach yourself up this morning. it was the grace and mercy of an almighty god. we are sitting in this place believing that all things work together for the good of those who love god and our call according to his purpose. make no mistake, my aipac sisters and brothers, i am one voice of many from the african-american community who want to let you know that you are not alone. you are not alone for we have

history together. our struggles have been your struggles and your struggles for power struggles. your victory of peace will be our victory for all of humanity. we understand all too well discrimination, separation, death and fear and we shall never forget. we, the african-american community, feel your urgency. we cannot afford to be led astray but we must stand together believing that all of things are possible through the guard who loves us. we must stand together, stand as adversity box at your door, stand as you seek peace and hold onto your faith. stambaugh to god's unchanging hand, stand as you walk by faith and not by sight. [applause] stand and support israel. [applause]

stand and tell the story. [applause] stand on today as we march on washington to make our voices heard together that our desire for peace is unmistakable, our support for israel is unshakable and our bond for freedom and friendship is on breakable. thanks be to god. thank you very much. [applause] ♪ ♪ [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen please welcome former aipac president, lani kaplan. ♪ >> for generations, the united states and the united kingdom have maintained a special relationship, an alliance cemented by a shared history, a common language and a unique sense of purpose in the world. as british prime minister for ten years, tony blair followed in the footsteps of leaders like winston churchill, who also believed deeply in the importance of the anglo-american bond. blair was close to democratic and republican presidential

administrations and throughout his decade in office, the united kingdom was our most loyal transatlantic partners in good times and bad. just hours after the 9/11 attacks, he said that his country stands, quote, shoulder to shoulder with our american friends in this hour of tragedy. and we've, like them, will not rest until this eisel was driven from the world. [applause] she lived up to his word. the united kingdom has sent more troops than any other country to fight alongside the united states in afghanistan and iraq. [applause] after his term as prime minister in did in 2007, he could have done any number of things with his time but he chose to dedicate himself to the pursuit

of peace between israel and the palestinians. on the day he resigned as prime minister he was appointed to be the representative of the middle east quartet. in this capacity he represents the united states, the united nations, the european union and russia as he travels extensively throughout the palestinian territories and seeks to create the economic conditions that will be necessary for a viable palestinian state. his efforts have attracted foreign investment to the west bank and help improve the quality-of-life for palestinians and he has won the confidence of israel's leaders. just recently, he ended a new responsibility to his portfolio, helping to build transparent and accountable palestinian institutions such as an independent judiciary and the civil society. he knows that his current job is as difficult as any challenge he faced as british prime minister.

but he has been pursuing peace with passion, persistence and plays. now, while many of us here have had a busy week, i want to let you know that mr. blair just arrived from russia. before that he was in belgium and as soon as he leads here he will be on a flight to china. he came to the united states for one reason to read to speak at the aipac policy conference. [applause] we are deeply appreciative of his presence today. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in getting a welcome to an ally, partner and friend, the honorable tony blair. [applause] [cheering] ♪

♪ [applause] ♪ [applause] thank you very much indeed. it's amazing how nice to you people are when you stop being prime minister. it is a tremendous pleasure to be here, and i was just backstage listening to pastor dee dee and while wow.

[applause] i have a suggestion, we just get everybody out of the middle east and put pastore dee dee. i don't think they would do anything but make peace. [applause] so anyway, it is a great pleasure to be with you. and lonny kaplan, thank you. my job is to try to get agreement between israelis and palestinians for the quartet which tries to get agreement between the united states, the united nations, the european union and russia. i thought after being put minister of britain for ten years i should try something easy. [laughter] i am always described as a friend of israel. it is true and i'm proud of it. [applause] and i tell you why i'm proud of it. israel is a democracy.

the politicians are in fear of the people, not the people in fear of the politicians. citizens are governed by the rule of law. men and women are free called to follow the law. [applause] and israel you can worship your faith in the way you want or not as you choose. there is freedom of thought and speech. israeli society is vibrant. its art is electrifying, its culture, open. in many respects, one of the middle east region should regard israel not as an enemy but as a model. [applause] i admire the fortitude of its

people. i remember attending independence day at mount hudson. i met a young man, five of his family had been killed in a terrorist attack. he had been blinded. but there he was, standing tall and strong and proud to be carrying one of the 12 torches' of the tribes's of israel. israelis and palestinians are not destined to be enemies to each other. i regard myself as a true friend of both. month in and month out, i spend with my team my time in a town of fees', jerusalem, ramallah annapolis, jericho and small villages and towns down in the valley of the river jordan in the hills even in gossip gaza.

i speak to the business people, the local general leaders it of course the people themselves. in most common of all, but the overwhelming majority of refined a deep yearning to discover the path to peace. and i believe with a passion that the only solution that works is one that delivers security to israel and dignity to the palestinian people. [applause] a state for the jewish people, a state for the palestinian people. [applause] it means once there is agreement on the contour of the palestinian state that is that. the end of all claims, the

settlement that is final. [applause] it means the palestinian state has to be voluble, independent and space. [applause] this is the true state solution. it's not a slogan. it is the only path to lasting peace and it can be done but only if we understand the nature of the challenge. it isn't that sensible well intentioned people could offset down and negotiate their way through issues of the borders. [applause] [cheering] one [cheering]

[cheering] [cheering] i always knew there were going to be some things about aipac i didn't quite understand. and it was either winston churchill or oscar wilde, and there is a difference -- [laughter] who said that we were to people slash common language. but anyway. [laughter] as i was saying, it is and the sensible well-intentioned people could not sit down and negotiate their way through the issues of borders, refugees, even